June 30th.. Revolution of Construction and Correcting Course, Op-ed

7 Years have passed since the June 30th revolution, but its events will still be engraved in the memories of Egyptians, and its results will paint the features of the future of Egypt. 

The June 30 revolution was not only against a ruling regime, it was a revolution, however, to restore the nation’s identity, correct the course, and build a new, modern state. A revolution that embodied the greatness, history and civilization of Egypt, and united all of its people and institutions, to get Egypt out of the dark tunnel in which it was marching.

In the aftermath of the January 25 revolution, many people felt that life was about to improve, but these were but high hopes, thwarted by the political failure, economic crisis and mismanagement that preceded the June 30 revolution.

The promises that were made about revitalizing the economy turned into fake pledges, when we then had a declining economy, factories that are either suspended or operating at a quarter of their capacity due to the lack of gas, electricity, labor strikes and group demands.

We also witnessed a decline in foreign investments, as the outgoing investments were much more than the domestic ones, due to the loss of confidence and credibility in the state and political and security instability and, but also the state retreat from its contracts and agreements as well as the absence of a future vision.

All of this led to a decline in the rate of growth and increased unemployment, and brought the foreign reserves to their lowest levels, and made the citizens suffering a lot from a declining economic activity, deteriorating services, declining of income and food crises, in parallel with a continuous rise in prices of goods and services, and repeated petrol and diesel crises and frequent blackouts, which affected the daily lives of Egyptians.

The June 30 revolution was a turning point and a piding line between two eras. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi was a symbol of this June 30 revolution that saved the country from civil war, pision, and religious tyranny.

President Sisi succeeded in achieving the goals of the June 30 revolution. Within a short time, he was able to restore order and stability in the streets, improve public services, especially in the energy sector, and settle many of the country's economic problems.

In 2012 and 2013, there was widespread chaos and climate of a civil war. The return of security and political stability brought the Egyptian economy back on the right track. There is no development without stability. The state also has regained its power, credibility, and international and local trust. Policies and legislation that reassured and stimulated investment, were put forward before the foreign and local investment got flowing in.

The  problem of the deteriorating infrastructure and provision of electricity was solved in a record time .. Due to all this, oil and gas companies returned to work, and the largest gas field was discovered in the Mediterranean basin, and Egypt turned from a gas importing country to an exporter. The factories returned to work and increased their production.

I, personally, have witnessed the investors ’appreciation for President Sisi’s credibility and seriousness, during his visits abroad. But also how they were impressed with his future vision about development, and appreciated the policies and legislations adopted by the country and the mega projects launched under his administration.

Indeed, the economic reforms have improved the financial indicators and provided foreign currency. And for the first time, we see all this amount of giant projects in agriculture, roads, housing, electricity, and Suez Canal development.

And with the recognition of all international institutions, Egypt is rapidly achieving comprehensive development and building a new country. 

And all feedback, through credible figures, from the international institutions indicates that what Egypt has achieved is a breakthrough, and a success story.

The growth rate reached 5.6%, which is the highest rate achieved by Egypt in 11 years, and the third best growth rate in the world after China and India, and we were on the track to increase the number to 8% in 2022. 

Investment, and exporting became, for the first time, the main pillar of growth, and not consumption. For the first time in a decade, the private sector became the main driver of investment. 

Egypt is the highest country attracting investment in Africa, and it ranked second in the Arab world. At the local level, the country implemented projects with investments worth  2.1 trillion pounds. The unemployment rate fell to less than 8%, and the foreign reserve rose to its highest level in the history of Egypt, exceeding $ 45 billion.

In addition, tourism has recovered, and was already achieving its best revenue levels ever before the current crisis. For the first time in 15 years, a basic surplus of 2% of GDP was achieved, compared to the basic deficit of 5% of GDP in 2012/2013.

For the first time, President Sisi was the first president in the history of Egypt to put a futuristic vision forward, which sets Egypt to be among the 30 largest economies in the world, in which he would triple the size of the urban area.

President Sisi has introduced new values, principles, and thought to Egypt. Every minute has a price because we are racing against time for development, and every delay in implementing projects has a cost to the state and the citizen, and the state cannot advance without a clear vision for the future, and that planning must precede development, and that the wealth of countries is not in their resources but in how to exploit them and maximize the added value of these resources.

For instance, the unique location of the Suez Canal is being used to turn the region into a new economic capital for Egypt and a center of global investment and industry.

And desert lands, where the price per square meter was 50 pounds when they were included in fourth-generation cities plans, has seen an increase in the price per meter to reach 3 thousand pounds, meaning that its total value as lands, exceeds 7.3 trillion pounds added to the national wealth.

The goal has become to improve the quality of life of the citizen in all projects in housing, services and health after the state succeeded in eliminating a chronic disease that has destroyed millions of lives over many decades, hepatitis C. the state has also announced the largest social protection projects in its history, which is a ‘takaful’ pension.

The state has risked it and addressed the issue of subsidies, and succeeded in ensuring that it reached its beneficiaries, a slogan that has been raised without implementation for 60 years. 

The scale of the challenges that Egypt currently faces is unprecedented. Egypt faces terrorism at home and on the western borders, and the challenge of the Renaissance Dam and the Coronavirus crisis.

Thanks to the successes of the June 30 revolution that restored the spirit and strength of the Egyptian state, Egypt is able now to overcome these challenges and complete its path to achieve Egypt's 2030 vision of growth, development and a decent life.